The soccer team will put its No. 1 ranking – the first time atop the poll in program history – on the line when it opens SEC play against Mississippi State in Starkville.

Tennessee, 6-0-1, and Mississippi State, 5-1, will take to the pitch at 7 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Sept. 12, with a broadcast on ESPNU. The Lady Vols landed at No. 1 this week after a tie at No. 14 Memphis and win over Georgia Southern to end non-conference play. The Bulldogs are receiving votes in the top 25.

The Lady Vols are the only team that has not allowed a goal so far season. Eight different Tennessee players have found the opponent’s net 19 times with Shea O’Rourke and Alivia Stott leading the way at five each.

Jenna Stayart has three goals and two assists through seven games, including a game-winning header against Georgia Southern to keep the Lady Vols unbeaten.

While the top ranking is noteworthy, so is the fact that not a single opponent has scored against Tennessee in seven games. With every unblemished sheet for goalkeepers Cayden Norris and Ally Zazzara, the target gets bigger for the Lady Vols.

Tennessee will start conference play with two games on the road – the Lady Vols play at Missouri on Thursday, Sept. 18 – and then will host LSU on Sept. 21, Texas A&M on Sept. 26 and Georgia on Oct. 2.

Admission and parking are free for home games so make plans for a trip to Regal Soccer Stadium this fall.

SOFTBALL

The SEC has released the eight conference series for schools in the 2026 season, and the Lady Vols will host LSU, March 6-8; Ole Miss, March 27-29; South Carolina, April 3-5; and Alabama, April 24-26. Tennessee will play at Mississippi State, March 13-15; Florida, March 20-22; Kentucky, April 10-12; and Missouri, April 30-May 2.

The SEC Tournament will be held May 5-9 at Kentucky. The full schedule for all 15 SEC teams (Vanderbilt doesn’t field one) is available HERE.

Last season, Tennessee drew the top three finishers in the SEC in Texas A&M and newcomers Oklahoma and Texas. While the SEC is always loaded and all or nearly all of the teams make the NCAA tourney, the Lady Vols won’t see the last two defending national champions in the Sooners (2024) and Longhorns (2025) in the regular season in 2026.

Florida and Ole Miss joined Tennessee at the Women’s College World Series in 2025 and will meet in the regular season.

Recruiting has gone well for softball with three commitments this week on the same day from the class of 2027 in a story that can be read HERE. The three players, Gracyn Needle, Kamryn Potts and Evelynn Swartzlander, all made the announcement on social media one after the other last Monday.

GAMEDAY CELEBRITY

Candace Parker will be in Knoxville for the Tennessee vs. Georgia football game and will be the celebrity picker for ESPN’s College GameDay on campus. Details can be read HERE, including how to watch and why it’s well-timed for Lady Vols basketball recruiting.

Parker made it clear she was picking Tennessee.

“What’s up? It’s your girl. Candace Parker, proud alum of the University of Tennessee,” Parker said in a video posted on College GameDay’s social media. “If you cut me, I bleed orange, and that’s why I’m so excited that College Game Day is coming to Knoxville as the University of Tennessee Volunteers take on the Georgia dogs. And guess what? You’re looking at your College GameDay celebrity guest picker.

“I’m so excited to let the world in on a little secret that 100,000 screaming fans in Neyland will know on Saturday – that the Tennessee Volunteers are going to shock the world and end a 10-year drought. Joshua Dobbs, 2016, threw that Hail Mary.”

Relive it by watching below.

“And there’s a new Josh that’s going to take down the dogs, and that’s Coach Heupel. High-octane offense, solid defense. We’re ready, and I’m calling it right now. So, I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday.”

Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press and a 10th anniversary edition will be released in 2026.